Ordnance sight



I" 33-235. m;- Q0109397 5R 520i Aug. 6, 1935. s. P. JOYCE 2,010,397

ORDNANCE SIGHT Filed Dec. 4, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l SH'JE-EL W51 HLJWitNla.

B. P. JOYCE ORDNANCE SIGHT Aug. 6, 1935.

Filed Dec. 4, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Gam a,

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Patented Aug. 6, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE American Armament Corporation,

Hoboken,

N. J., a corporation of New York Application December 4, 1934, Serial No. 755,984

4 Claims.

The invention relates to sights for guns and mortars capable of adjustment as to elevation and traverse, and it aims primarily to provide a new and improved construction of unusually compact and durable nature to well withstand the shock of firing.

A further object is to provide a construction which will facilitate manufacture and assembly, said construction being such as to permit accurate lapping or running in of worms and worm gears which are used in elfecting sight adjustments.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter de scribed and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawmgs.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one of the sights applied to one of many kinds of mortars.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the sight.

Figure 3 is a side elevation viewed as indicated by the arrow 3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a top plan view.

Figure '7 is a horizontal section on line 1'l of Fig. 4.

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view showing a different spring device for holding either of the sight adjusting shafts in adjusted position.

While the features of construction herein i1- lustrated may be considered as preferred, it will, of course, be understood that minor variations may be made within the scope of the invention as claimed.

The sight is shown upon a mortar having a base B which may be leveled both longitudinally and transversely by jack screws J. The barrel b of the mortar is connected with the base B by a universal joint 7' and may be adjusted as to elevation by the jack screw or the like S and may be traversed by means of the hand screw s. This screw s connects the upper end of the screw jack or the like S with a collar C which may be adjusted along the barrel b for additional elevation, and I have shown the improved sight mounted directly upon this collar C although it could be otherwise connected with the mortar barrel or with the barrel of a gun.

The mortar so far briefly described, is shown for illustrative purposes only and it will be understood that the sight may be mounted on any kind of a mortar or gun. Preferably the mounting of the sight is provided by means of a suitable dove tail iii on the sight and a receiving guideway for said dovetail carried by the gun or mortar, but other mounting means could, of course, be employed.

The dove-tail I is, in the present disclosure, integral with a vertical end wall ll of a rather short cylindrical casing l2 whose axis is disposed horizontally, said end wall and the side wall of said casing being preferably integral with each other. The end wall l, in the construction herein disclosed, is provided with an integral bearing stub 53 projecting centrally from its innor side for a purpose to appear.

The casing I2 is provided with another end wall M which is rotatable upon the horizontal axis of said casing, said rotatable end wall l4 being provided with a worm wheel 55 located within said casing. In the present showing, this worm wheel is integrally connected with the rotatable end wall M by means of a hub l6 and this hub rotatably surrounds the bearing stub l3, the parts being held in assembled relation by a suitably locked nut ll threaded on the free end of said bearing stub.

A worm l8 meshes with the worm gear or wheel l5 and is disposed within the casing I2, the shaft IQ of this worm being extended outwardly through bearing bosses 2i) and 2! carried by said casing and having an operating knob 22 at the exterior of the latter. The inner end 23 of this knob abuts the outer end 24 of the boss 29 and said abutting ends constitute friction surfaces for holding the shaft l9 in adjusted position. The boss 2! is internally enlarged at its outer end providing a recess 25 around the shaft [9, and the inner end 25 of this recess constitutes a thrust shoulder facing in the same direction as the surface 23. A collar or the like 2? is secured on the shaft is and closes the outer end of the recess 25, the inner end 28 of said collar or the like constituting a thrust shoulder which is spaced longitudinally of the shaft i9 from the shoulder 28 and faces toward the latter. A non-torsional spring device which may be of the type shown in Fig. 5 or of the form shown in Fig. 8, surrounds the shaft l9 within the recess 25, thrusts in one direction on the shoulder 26 and in the other direction on the shoulder 28. This nontorsional spring device exerts an endwise pressure on the shaft l9 holding the friction surfaces 23 and 24 in contact with each other to hold the shaft l9 after it has been rotated for elevational adjustment, as hereinafter more fully explained. The non-torsional characteristic of the spring device insures that it shall not be torsionally tensioned by rotation of the shaft IQ, for it has been found that any spring device which is so tensioned by rotation of the shaft, springs back to its original position when the gun or mortar is fired, causing slight rotation of the adjusting shaft and moving the sight out of adjustment.

In Fig. 5, the non-torsional spring device consists of two annular anti-friction bearings 29 and 3B surrounding the shaft l9 and abutting the shoulders 26 and 28 respectively, and a coiled compression spring 3! interposed between and abutting said bearings. In Fig. 8, however, the non-torsional spring device is formed from a plurality of cupped resilient washers 3h.

The rotatable end wall 14 of the casing l2 carries another short cylindrical casing 32 whose axis is disposed vertically, said casing 32 having a fixed lower end wall 33 and an upper end wall 34 which is rotatable upon the axis of said casing. This end wall 34 carries a sighting device 35 and a leveling device 36, said sighting device being preferably in the form of a collimator tube. The end wall 34 is provided with an indicator 3'! cooperable with a scale 38 on the side wall of the casing 32, said scale being preferably graduated in artillery-mils, an artillery-mil being 1/6400 of a circle.

Disposed within the casing 32 and unitarily connected with the end wall 34 thereof, is a worm-wheel or gear 39 which meshes with a worm 40 also housed within said casing. This worm is rotatably mounted in the same manner as the worm I3, is provided with an operating knob 4| at the exterior of the casing 32 and is provided with means 3| whereby it is held in adjusted position. This means 3! may be identical with the corresponding means shown in Fig. 5, or may be of the form shown in Fig. 8.

In the form of construction herein disclosed, the rotatable end wall I4 of the casing I2 is provided on its outer side with an upper lateral lug 42 and with a lower lateral lug 43, said lugs being provided with alined openings 44 and 45 respectively. The opening 44 opens at least through the upper side of the lug 42 and snugly receives a stub 46 which is integral with and projects downwardly from the lower end wall 33 of the casing 32. After adjusting this casing 32 relative to the casing [2 to compensate for any possible inaccuracy in the collimator tube 35, the stub 46 is locked to the lug 42 by a suitable pin or the like 41.

The worm wheel or gear 39 in the specific structure herein illustrated, is fixedly carried by a vertical shaft 48 which may be integral with or otherwise secured to the rotatable upper end wall 34 of the casing 32. This shaft passes through a bearing opening 49 in the stub 46, passes also through the opening 45 in the lug 43, and is provided with a collar 50 abutting the lower side of the lug 43.

It will be seen from the above that a very sim ple, compact and durable construction has been provided which will well withstand the shocks of firing, without either being injured or being jarred out of adjustment. The structure is such that the center of gravity of the sight is as near as possible to the dove-tail ill for compactness and even though the entire structure is unusually compact, its adjusting knobs 22 and 4! are readily accessible. These knobs are preferably graduated as shown permitting very accurate adjustment.

Before the casing 32 and parts carried thereby are connected with the end wall l4 of the casing I2, the worm l8 and gear l5 may be lapped or run in while in operative position, insuring that there shall be no lost motion or jerky movement. Similarly, the worm 4G and its coacting gear 39 may be lapped or run in while they are in operative relation.

As to operation, in direct-fire, the sight is set in degrees elevation to reach the target with the powder charge selected, this elevational setting being accomplished by rotating knob 22 and read ing an indicator 5! on the casing end wall 24 with a degree scale 52 on the side wall of the casing i2. The mortar is then elevated until the leveling device 36 shows that the sight is level for elevation. The jacks J of the mortar are then adjusted until said leveling device shows that the sight is level in both elevation and cross-wise of the mortar. The sight is set to 3200 mils on 'the traversing scale 38 which brings the collimator tube 35 parallel with the vertical plane through the axis of the mortar barrel. The traversing screw 5 of the mortar is then used to bring this collimator tube on the target.

In indirect-fire, where the target is not in View of the collimator tube 3-5, the mortar may be set up in a trench or in wooded territory and a second collimator tube or the like 35 (herein shown as carried by the dove-tail i8) is used to see that the projectile will clear the rim of the trench or any tree branches or other obstructions, said collimator tube or the like 35' being fixedly mounted parallel to the axis of the mortar barrel. When in a trench, the wall of the latter is usually so close to the sight that a proper length of base-line for accurate firing is not attainable. Therefore, an aiming-point is selected, to right or left of the mortar, at a reasonable distance from it, so as to give a base-line of fire of a proper length. Sight setting is now eifected in the same manner as above described, except that the sight is not set at the 3200 mils in traverse. The mortar is set to reach the target as accurately as these conditions will permit and the sight is so set as to train the collimator tube 35 on the aiming point selected. Then a round is fired and the burst of the projectile to right or left of the target is observed. Then, the correction in artillery-mils is set off on the sight in traverse and the sight is again brought on the aiming point by means of the traversing screw.

I claim:

1. An ordnance sight comprising a cylindrical casing having one end wall rotatable upon the casing axis, means for mounting said casing upon agun barrel or the like with said axis disposed horizontally, means within said casing and having an actuating knob at the exterior thereof for rotating said rotatable end wall, a second cylindrical casing and means mounting it upon said rotatable end wall about a second axis disposed normally to said first axis, said second casing having an upper end wall rotatable upon said second axis, means within said second casing and having an actuating knob at the exterior thereof for rotating said upper end wall, and a sighting device mounted on said upper end wall.

2. An ordnance sight comprising a cylindrical casing having one end wall rotatable upon the casing axis, means for mounting said casing upon a gun barrel or the like with said axis disposed Uni. level.

horizontally, means within said casing and having an actuating knob at the exterior thereof for rotating said rotatable end wall, the outer side of said rotatable end wall being provided with a lateral lug having an opening which opens at least upwardly, a second cylindrical casing having its axis disposed vertically, said second casing being provided with an upper end wall rotatable upon said vertical axis and being further provided with a lower end wall having a stub secured in said opening, means within said second casing and having a knob at the exterior thereof for rotating said upper end wall, and a sighting device mounted on said upper end wall.

3. An ordnance sight comprising a closed cylindrical casing having one end wall rotatable upon the casing axis, eans fg r m gunting said casin ilpl mangun garrel or the like witlfsaid axis disposed horizonfilly, means within said casing and having an actuating knob at the exterior thereof for rotating said rotatable end wall, the outer side of said rotatable end wall being provided with an upper lateral lug and a lower lateral lug, said lugs having alined openings defining a second axis normal to said horizontal axis, a second cylindrical casing, said second casing having an upper end wall rotatable about said second axis and being further provided with a lower end wall having a stub secured in the opening of said upper lug, said stub having a vertical bearing opening, a vertical shaft passing rotatably through said bearing opening and hav- Zontally, said casinghav ing a fixed side wall, a

fixed end wall rigid with said fixed side wall, and an end wall rotatable about said horizontal axis, said fixed end wall being provided on its inner side with an integral bearing stub, said rotatable end wall being provided at its inner side with an integral hub surrounding said bearing stub, and with a worm wheel integral with the inner end of said hub and disposed between said end walls, means on the outer end of said bearing stub holding said rotatable end wall and said hub against sliding therefrom, a worm in said casing between the periphery of said worm wheel and said fixed side wall, said worm meshing with said worm wheel and having an actuating knob at the exterior of the casing, bearings for said worm wheel carried fixedly by said fixed side wall, a sighting device, and means mounting said sighting device on said rotatable end wall.

BRYAN P. JOYCE. 

